ADAPTATIONS BY GREAT REED WARBLERS TO BROOD PARASITISM: A COMPARISON OF POPULATIONS IN SYMPATRY AND ALLOPATRY WITH THE COMMON CUCKOO

Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (10) ◽  
pp. 1313-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Rejection Rate ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Greek Population ◽  
Great Reed Warbler ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Egg Colour ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
The Common

AbstractEgg rejection behaviour, as an antiparasite defence against brood parasitism was compared in two great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus populations. In central Hungary the host population lives in sympatry with the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, and it is heavily parasitised (ca 66%). In central Greece the great reed warbler occurs in allopatry with the cuckoo, so it is not parasitised at all. Experimental parasitism with poorly mimetic (often called 'non-mimetic') artificial cuckoo eggs revealed a 100% rejection rate towards the foreign eggs in the Greek population, but the Hungarian hosts accepted 29.4% and rejected 70.6% of the model cuckoo eggs. No other rejection type than ejection was observed. The significantly higher level of rejection in Greece than in Hungary suggests that the Greek great reed warbler population is an abandoned host population of the cuckoo, which kept its egg recognition ability. A computer-based image analysis of host's clutches revealed that interclutch variation in egg colour was greater than intraclutch variation in the Hungarian population, but not in the Greek population. Spottedness of eggs were similar in both populations. Generally, a tendency for a higher interclutch variation was found in Hungary. Intraclutch variation was more similar in the two populations, but for the colour variables it showed a lower value in Hungary than in Greece. The heavy cuckoo parasitism in Hungary is suggested to be the main cause for the increased interclutch variation in relation to intraclutch variation in egg appearance among great reed warbler clutches. The high interclutch variation reduces the chance that the parasite egg's appearance matches that of the hosts', which facilitates hosts' egg discrimination.

scholarly journals Fast and furious: host aggression modulates behaviour of brood parasites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Jelínek ◽  
Michal Šulc ◽  
Gabriela Štětková ◽  
Marcel Honza
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Great Reed Warbler ◽  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
The Common

ABSTRACTAvian brood parasites pose a serious threat for hosts, substantially reducing their fitness which selects for the evolution of host defences. A classic example of a host frontline defence is mobbing which frequently includes contact attacking of brood parasites. Here, we investigated how the nest defence of a very aggressive great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) host influences the speed of egg-laying and egg-removing behaviour of its brood parasite – the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We video-recorded 168 brood parasitic events at 102 active host nests and found that cuckoos avoided host mobbing in only 62% of cases. If hosts spotted the cuckoo at their nests, they almost always attacked it (in 91 of 104 cases), however, such attacks only rarely and temporarily prevented cuckoos from parasitizing (11 additional cases). When attacked, cuckoos parasitized host nests significantly faster and left them immediately. However, when not attacked, cuckoos frequently stayed at or near the nest suggesting that host aggression, rather than the risk of being spotted, influences the speed of brood parasitism in this species. Further, we found that cuckoos performed egg-removing behaviour in all parasitic events without regard to host aggression. As a result, cuckoos removed at least one egg during all brood parasitism events except those when an egg slipped from their beaks and fell back into the nest (in 9 of 73 cases). This indicates that egg-removing behaviour is not costly for the common cuckoo and is an essential part of its parasitism strategy, widening understanding of this currently unexplained behaviour.

Great Reed Warbler singing behavior and conspicuous song structures are not nest-location cues for the Common Cuckoo

2017 ◽  
Vol 158 (4) ◽  
pp. 925-933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Capek ◽  
Tereza Petrusková ◽  
Zuzana Šebelíková ◽  
Jesús Campos Serrano ◽  
Petr Procházka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Reed Warbler ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Nest Location ◽  
Singing Behavior ◽  
The Common

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Reed Warbler Risk of Brood Parasitism by the Common Cuckoo

The Auk ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 534-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice L. Clarke ◽  
Ingar J. Øien ◽  
Marcel Honza ◽  
Arne Moksnes ◽  
Eivin RØskaft
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Host Nest ◽  
Nest Parasitism ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Direct View ◽  
The Common

Abstract In this study we conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis of factors hypothesized to influence the risk of Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) brood parasitism by the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) on study sites in the south-eastern part of the Czech Republic. We collected data from Common Cuckoo nesting sites surrounding two fishponds. Our logistic regression models were based on the dichotomous dependent variable, parasitism of the Reed Warbler nest, and seven independent variables. Our first model used all data available across sites and years and resulted in a final model in which the only significant contributor was the independent variable “cuckoo view,” the view of host nests from the cuckoo's vantage point in a tree. A second model was developed using data limited to sites and years with the largest sample sizes and expected to yield the most reliable results. That model resulted in three significant contributors: site, cuckoo view, and neighborhood view. In both data sets, the odds of nest parasitism were shown to increase as the view of the host nest became more direct. However, a direct view of the focal nest raised the risk of parasitism to a much greater degree than did a direct view of the neighborhood of nests. Our results provide support for a nest-exposure hypothesis of brood parasitism risk. Although our models have identified nest exposure to be the best predictor of nest parasitism in this system, work remains to unravel the potentially complex relationship among Common Cuckoos, habitat structure, and Reed Warbler hosts.

scholarly journals Heterospecific alarm-call recognition in two warbler hosts of common cuckoos

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1149-1157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangping Yu ◽  
Hailin Lu ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Haitao Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alarm Call ◽  
Alarm Calls ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Playback Experiments ◽  
Call Recognition ◽  
Accipiter Nisus ◽  
Main Host ◽  
The Common

Abstract Species facing similar selection pressures should recognize heterospecific alarm signals. However, no study has so far examined heterospecific alarm-call recognition in response to parasitism by cuckoos. In this study, we tested whether two sympatric host species of the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, Oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis (ORW, main host), and black-browed reed warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps (BRW, rare host), could recognize each other’s alarm calls in response to cuckoos. Dummies of common cuckoo (parasite) and Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (predator) were used to induce and record alarm calls of the two warbler species, respectively. In the conspecific alarm-call playback experiments, ORW responded more strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls, while BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than to sparrowhawk alarm calls. In the heterospecific alarm-call playback experiments, both ORW and BRW responded less strongly to cuckoo alarm calls than sparrowhawk alarm calls. BRW seemed to learn the association between parasite-related alarm calls of the ORW and the cuckoo by observing the process of ORW attacking cuckoos. In contrast, alarm calls of BRW to cuckoos were rarely recorded in most cases. BRW with low parasite pressure still developed recognition of heterospecific parasite-related alarm call. Unintended receivers in the same community should recognize heterospecific alarm calls precisely to extract valuable information.

The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. AVILÉS ◽  
J. R. VIKAN ◽  
F. FOSSØY ◽  
A. ANTONOV ◽  
A. MOKSNES ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Acrocephalus Scirpaceus ◽  
The Common

Repeated Presentations of the Common Cuckoo Increase Nest Defense by the Eurasian Reed Warbler But Do not Induce It to Make Recognition Errors

The Condor ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Čapek ◽  
Milica Požgayová ◽  
Petr Procházka ◽  
Marcel Honza
Keyword(s):  
Nest Defense ◽  
Reed Warbler ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
The Common ◽  
Recognition Errors

scholarly journals Spatial variation in egg polymorphism among cuckoo hosts across 4 continents

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canchao Yang ◽  
Xingfeng Si ◽  
Wei Liang ◽  
Anders Pape Møller
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Selection Pressure ◽  
Color Polymorphism ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
The Common ◽  
Host Families

Abstract Although egg color polymorphism has evolved as an effective defensive adaptation to brood parasitism, spatial variations in egg color polymorphism remain poorly characterized. Here, we investigated egg polymorphism in 647 host species (68 families and 231 genera) parasitized by 41 species of Old Word cuckoos (1 family and 11 genera) across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. The diversity of parasitic cuckoos differs among continents, reflecting the continent-specific intensities of parasitic selection pressure on hosts. Therefore, host egg polymorphism is expected to evolve more frequently on continents with higher cuckoo diversity. We identified egg polymorphism in 24.1% of all host species and 47.6% of all host families. The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus utilized 184 hosts (28.4% of all host species). Hosts of the common cuckoo and of Chrysococcyx species were more likely to have polymorphic eggs than hosts parasitized by other cuckoos. Both the number of host species and the host families targeted by the cuckoo species were positively correlated with the frequency of host egg polymorphism. Most host species and most hosts exhibiting egg color polymorphism were located in Asia and Africa. Host egg polymorphism was observed less frequently in Australia and Europe. Our results also suggested that egg polymorphism tends to occur more frequently in hosts that are utilized by several cuckoo species or by generalist cuckoo species. We suggest that selection pressure on hosts from a given continent increases proportionally to the number of cuckoo species, and that this selection pressure may, in turn, favor the evolution of host egg polymorphism.

scholarly journals Egg Rejection in Marsh Warblers (Acrocephalus Palustris) Heavily Parasitized by Common Cuckoos (Cuculus Canorus)

The Auk ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Antonov ◽  
Bård G. Stokke ◽  
Arne Moksnes ◽  
Eivin Røskaft
Keyword(s):  
Rejection Rate ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Egg Rejection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Acrocephalus Palustris ◽  
High Rejection Rate ◽  
Host Parasite

Abstract In the coevolutionary “arms race” between Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) and their hosts, several adaptations and counter-adaptations have evolved. Here, we investigated natural parasitism and host sensitivity to egg rejection in Marsh Warblers (Acrocephalus palustris) in Bulgaria. The level of Common Cuckoo parasitism was high (28%), and average mimicry of Common Cuckoo eggs was good. Experimental parasitism with four egg-types that showed various degrees of mimicry of the host eggs revealed a generally high rejection rate of foreign eggs (37.5–100%). In addition, naturally laid Common Cuckoo eggs were rejected at a moderate rate (50%). The Marsh Warbler's ability to reject foreign eggs was strongly dependent on the degree of mimicry of the parasite egg but apparently not on differences in size between host and foreign eggs. Furthermore, intraclutch variation in host egg appearance was not related to the probability of egg rejection. The Marsh Warbler's highly developed egg-recognition ability and the good mimicry of Common Cuckoo eggs suggests that this poorly known host-parasite arms race has reached an advanced stage. The present study provides new insight into variables that are important for egg rejection in a heavily parasitized host population. Rechazo de Huevos en Nidos de Acrocephalus palustris Fuertemente Parasitados por Cuculus canorus

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